KEY POINTS:
Name: Daisy Ta'ufo'ou.
Age: 25.
Role: Future Leaders Programme Coordinator for YWCA.
Working hours: 7am to 3.30pm with some weekend and evening work, depending on the events.
Average salary: $48,000-$55,000.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) from AUT.
Describe what you do.
The YWCA Future Leaders programme provides mentoring and practical support and skills development to young women from low decile schools who show leadership potential.
I work with two other programme coordinators. We coordinate the mentor relationships, organise and present training programmes, and recruit mentors. It is a real mix of event management and administration.
Part of our role is to ensure the concerns of the trainee and mentor are heard.
If a mentor can't contact a trainee, for example, I can step in and liaise.
We facilitate mentor meetings four times a year, bringing them together for a catch up and an opportunity to learn off each other about what has been successful and what hasn't.
Who do you work for?
The YWCA Auckland Association, which focuses on leadership and mentoring programmes for young women.
Why is mentoring important to you?
I was brought up in South Auckland, a Pacific Islander in a community not always seen as successful. Having a mentor really helped me to find confidence in myself and feel valued.
I realised I could overcome negative stigma, be myself and achieve what I wanted. I want to instil that in others.
How do girls get chosen for the programme?
We target girls with leadership potential who lack resources or need extra support and encouragement to achieve personal and academic goals. They are not at risk students. There is a selection process.
We make presentations to Year 10 classes in schools and the girls decide on their own to apply. We interview applicants and select 10 to 12 students from each school.
We look at their current involvement outside school and ask them why they would benefit from having a mentor and whether they're ready to commit to four years of mentoring. The schools also rate the girls who apply. We currently have more than 90 trainees from 11 schools ranging from the Far North to South Auckland.
What about the mentors?
We have a huge, diverse group of business women; accountants, lawyers, doctors, teachers, at home mums, tertiary students. We need more!
Your background?
I'm passionate about helping young people and have been involved in supporting and helping young people since I volunteered at Manukau Youth Centre during high school.
I was mentored as a young girl through an informal mentoring relationship from high school into my early working years. My mentor was a social worker at the Manukau Youth Centre who then went on to start her own business, Affirming Works.
I volunteered with her in my final year of my social science degree. After completing my degree I worked there for four years.
I applied for the Future Leaders' job because it combined mentoring and programme coordination, and I thought it would be a different challenge working solely with girls.
In this job I'm more involved in the overall process, where I was more engaged with students and families in my previous role.
What sort of training or experience do you need?
A qualification such as social science or youth work is important, but so is experience of working with youth, including those from different cultures. You have to really truly enjoy working with young people and being around them. It's also helpful to have experience in the business or community sector.
What skills or qualities do you need?
A lot of the job is about recruiting mentors and trainees, so you need presentation and organisational skills. You also need to be able to build relationships with a range of people; the girls, their families and the mentors.
You also need organisational, networking and administration skills.
Best part of the job?
I believe mentoring works and it is very satisfying to be involved in the programme. It is very rewarding to see students develop and improve on leadership and their self-confidence.
It is also great getting positive feedback from mentors about their mentoring relationships and hearing stories about mentors who are now mentoring a second girl, while remaining good friends with their first trainee.
Most challenging part?
Finding enough volunteer mentors! It is a big ask. The mentors need to be there for their trainees, encouraging them to develop and achieve goals over the four years. They meet up monthly and keep in fortnightly contact by email or text.
Advice to anyone interested?
Volunteer to be a mentor! Get involved in community youth or participate in local activities working alongside youth. Find out whether you have the tolerance, understanding and passion needed to work with youth.
